WELCOME to the start of what will be one of the most auspicious years in this nation's history, a story this newspaper has been proud to report for more than 230 years.
The eyes of the whole world will, of course, be on us in 2014.
This is the Year of Homecoming, a mix of events and festivals that will celebrate the very best of Scotland from now right through until next Hogmanay.
Two of the most prestigious sporting events in the global calendar will take place on Scottish soil, with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in the summer and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in early autumn.
And on September 18, the nation will face its most momentous decision in three centuries as the electorate delivers its verdict in the independence referendum.
Throughout it all, The Herald will strive to cover these events with pride and with passion, with integrity and with insight, and hopefully, both instructively and entertainingly.
We thank you for joining us at the start of this annus mirabilis, and trust that you will stay with us for its duration.
Fasten your seatbelts. This is going to be a journey never to be forgotten.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article